The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-02-15
PRIMITIVE PEOPLE.
THE WILD AND UNNAMED JEWELLERS
IN NORTH MOUNTAIN, VA.

To the visitors here the appearance of
these people was revelation. That the
mountaineer was not possessed Of an ordt-
nary education was no surprise to them,
but they were not prepared in this nine
teenth century to gaze upon a reprOduc-
ton of primitive man. Saturday is gen
orally set aside as sort of holiday by
them. From within radius of twenty
miles they come with their families.
babies and all, 60 the city, as Orkney is
termed, to have time. Those who are
fortunate enough to have wagons drive
here, but fully seven-eights are not so
blessed, and over mountain and dell they
climb with their children so as to get to
Orkney.
Life in the mountains has developed
Looping movement, just as life ON ship
board gives to the sailor when on shore q
swaying motion. Men, women and child
rem have the same gait. The head is bent
forward and the arms hang down in
front. All are round-shouldered and
hollow chessed. Their faces are express
.ouI-sS and semi idiotic, their manner
awkward and ungainly, and their be-
asyiOr marked by an utter absence of
q lmon civility. They gaze upon stran-
: :. or rather at his attire, with open
.oJth and dilated eyes, evidently deem
. him great curiosity, and are noe in
-.e women are little more shy, and eyi-
d-Ht!y the more ign GRANT Of the sexes, if
II were possible This may be due to
fact that the males are oftener within
= pales of civilization. Some of them
aw tobacco like the men, while others
H;iile pipes So much for their personal
@pearance and manner.
GARMENTS NOT FASHIONABLE.
- to their garments, it did not require
onnOisseur to determine that they were
- designed by Paris ian modiste The
4-es wore loose sacks Of cheap goods
al pants to match. Everything was
Sc and flowing, implying a love of
.omfOrt and plenty of room. Nearly all
ii; d on black SLOUGH hats with fiat crowns
and broad bTims. The male children
were attired in jackets that hung about
hem like sacks, and immensely wide
CROWN jeans pants, shaped something like
The Old-style peg-tops. 1t was the female
attire, however, that attracted the most
attention. Such a combination of colors
is rarely seen. Yellow and red FREEDOM
mated The material, as a rule, was cot
ton print, and the style vigorous plaid.
a majority of the crowd wore loud col
ors, while the danes were attired in
gowns of some dark stuff and sunbonnets
Around the neck and shoulders the bodice
fitted Snugty, but from the armpits down
they looked like Mother Hubbards. 1t
was generally remarked that few wore
cOrsets. The fiat shoes left solid print
on the soft ground, and the head-gear of
the more youthful, which, like the rest of
the attire, suggested comfort, was fat
and wide.
There were about 200 on the grounds last
Saturday, and, had the weather been less
threatening there would probably have
been many more They came to have
good time, aud they had it. The music
first attracted their attention. They gath
cred about the little round house on the
lawn, and gHzed with wonder and admir-
alton at the brass instruments. Soon the
leader abandoned operate airs. This
sort of music attracted but did not amuse
them. He started up the Virginia Reel,
and almost instantly he features of the
listeners underwent q change. The old
familiar strain had wonderful effect.
Alter a while some of them became I'M
easy, and before the tune died out, two
OK the mountaiueers su ldenly made a
break for the board walk, and began to
dance. 1t was the old break down, rem
dered in manner that would have ex-
cited the envy of a song ambulance man.
He was the original, OF which the guest
had heretofore only seen the imitation.
MAN-EATER AND PARTNER.
The dancers were odd characters one
in particular being kuown throughout
this section as John Huckleberry, "the
man eater" He is said to be the strong
est man in the mountains, beng a match
for any six men. The mountaineers re-
spect mis- prowess, and look upon him a.
a leader. The giant is about six feel
two inches in hight, and is of herculean
build. The man-eater's partner in tbs
dance was lame man with basket on
his arm. His physical tmperfection did
not interfere with his movements. After
time, when the music ceased, some Oh
the men withdrew to the further end OF
the lawn where a ring was formed. One
OF the youths pulled out a mouth har-
monica. and, 5s the wild strains swung
- rAa sresEs t0uF mountain boys started
10 the center &4G began e rolucking sOrt
OF dance In this W. the ptcnlckers
enjoyed themselves throughout TIE dav-
Just about sundoTu she musicians gave
the usual concert on the lawn. After
playing humble NJ airs they decided to
give the mountaineers another benefit.
This time they selected "Sallle - the
Garden" the welI-knOwn "Buzzard" air.
The women thought the men had danced
enough, SO they prevailed upon two of
their number to start the ball. tall,
linn woman in black, about 40 years of
age, with shaker bonnet, and girl of
70 responded. 1nef0 WAS uO WluSlnS, as
Is seen at tough balls in your city, but
the side steps and shuf1es were immense.
TEey tossed themselves all over the
board, affording infinite amusement to
the spectators. For five minutes they
danced together, then the young girl
gave out The old woman, however, kept
t up until the musicians were tired out.
Il was an endurance match, and the aged
dancer carried off the prize. When com
D imented on her performance she re-
marked, with proud toss of her head:
%. I'm a Woodworking woman, am,
and she looked it. Late st night the
D:cnickers started for home which many
did not reach until the following morn
irg-Cor Baltimore American.
Fencing In the Lions.
While a circus was parading in Kings
ton. Can, recently, a wagon containing a